Army seniors setting example for future

WEST POINT — You might expect senior wide receiver Davyd Brooks to be looking back at his Army football career this week.

Sal Interdonato

WEST POINT — You might expect senior wide receiver Davyd Brooks to be looking back at his Army football career this week.

Brooks has his share of memories — his first career touchdown at Tulane last season and a game-clinching catch to seal Army's Armed Forces Bowl win last December.

Four seasons have passed by quicker than Brooks expected. The 2007 Newburgh Free graduate and 19 other seniors' last home game at Michie Stadium comes Saturday.

Brooks, however, hasn't been thinking about the ceremonies before Army plays Fordham. He's zeroed in on one thing — a win. Brooks is looking at the present and the future.

"I know it's supposed to be special but we are trying to do something with this season," Brooks said. "We have a lot of opportunities left. I'm going to attack it like any other game. I'm going to work hard and all the other stuff can stay to the side until after the season."

Brooks isn't giving up on his team despite its 2-5 record. Army needs to win its next four games to advance to its second straight bowl.

"Our record doesn't speak for our team at all," said Brooks, who has 21 catches for 333 yards and two touchdowns in his career. "I've never felt that strongly about any team that I've been on. We have so much potential and talent. Any moment, it could just explode. I feel like it's going to happen, definitely soon."

The Black Knights are playing their earliest home season finale since 1977. They still have games left with service-academy rivals Air Force and Navy, Rutgers at Yankee Stadium and Temple.

Army will try to snap a two-game losing streak without its starting quarterback Trent Steelman, who is sidelined for the first time in 32 games with a high ankle sprain.

Senior quarterback Max Jenkins is expected make his first career start on Senior Day. Freshman Angel Santiago will also play.

Only eight seniors have started this season. Brooks is one of six active seniors left from the 2007 Army Prep class. The seniors' bond extends beyond football, guard Jordan Pleasants said. They have worked together in camp and during the ups and downs of four or five seasons.

"These guys are the closest thing you have to brothers that are not blood," said Pleasants, an Army Prep graduate. "There's that bond. Nothing is going to change that. A lot of these guys are going to be your roommates when you get out to your basic course (in the Army). It's not over on Saturday."

This group of seniors helped bring in a talented freshman class when they acted as guides on their recruiting trips. They've mentored the young talent, reminding them what Army football stands for.

"Don't sell this senior class short," coach Rich Ellerson said. "There are not a lot of them, but they are making an impact out there. They've kept this team together in the face of adversity and we are playing hard."

Cornerback Lamar Johnson-Harris said the team's freshmen have talked about giving the seniors one final moment at Michie Stadium.

"They've been helping us out all year so we can help out with this win for them." Johnson-Harris said.